Cop killers hunted in Pampanga

Operatives of the Northern Police District and the San Fernando, Pampanga police are closing in on the killers of Valenzuela City deputy police chief Superintendent Eugenio Casalme.

Casalme, 52, was gunned down during a highway robbery Wednesday night along the North Luzon Expressway while on his way home to Pampanga. "We have the group’s identity and our operatives, in coordination with Pampanga authorities, are hunting them down," said NPD director Senior Superintendent Vidal Querol.

Querol, however, refused to give more details about the group’s activities claiming it might affect ongoing operations.

"Based on the witnesses’ accounts, the suspects are presently in Pampanga and hopefully, we could get them this afternoon or tomorrow," Querol said.

Earlier, Superintendent Nemesio Neron, Valenzuela City police chief, named the notorious Waray-Waray robbery gang as responsible for Casalme’s killing.

"That was his (Neron’s) first assessment based on the group’s modus operandi, but our latest information pointed to another group," Querol added.

Casalme was on board an Alladin bus driven by Cornelio Gorospe when three of his fellow passengers announced a holdup while the bus was traversing the North Luzon Expressway near the Valenzuela Exit at about 8 p.m. Wednesday.

The suspects, armed with a handgun, a grenade and a knife, immediately identified Casalme as a policeman as he was wearing a type-B uniform.

A suspect shot Casalme once in the chest after divesting him of his service firearm and his wallet.

As Casalme pretended to be dead, one of the suspects pumped another bullet into his nape before the robbers alighted at San Simon Exit in Pampanga and escaped with their loot.

One of the passengers overheard the suspect saying that he was a former policeman and he hated policemen for killing his brother.

"Those were his (suspect’s) words and that could help us in our investigation," Querol said.

As of presstime yesterday, the Valenzuela City police led by Neron and the Pampanga authorities were conferring about the suspects’ immediate arrest. –Pete Laude